Fraudsters intercept $200,000 settlement for dead seafarer's family

Fraudsters intercept $200,000 settlement for dead seafarer's family
Gary Howard January 12, 2026 https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/security/fraudsters-intercept-200-000-...

ITIC sends payment fraud warning after settlement to dead seafarer’s family intercepted by email deception.

Professional indemnity specialist the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has issued a warning over rising payment fraud targeting the maritime industry, and urged those handling large payments to carry out identity verification through secure channels.

In its latest Claims Review newsletter, ITIC published the story of a P&I correspondent who had their emails intercepted by a fraudster while handling a settlement involving the death of a crew member onboard a vessel.

The fraudster then impersonated multiple people involved in the settlement process — including members of the deceased seafarer’s family — using fake email address and fabricated documents to supply false bank details and fraudulent authorities for the $200,000 settlement.

Mark Brattman, claims director at ITIC, said: “This case is a stark reminder of how sophisticated payment-interception fraud has become. Email interception is a well-known method of fraud and it often targets high value payments, particularly where the correspondence is sensitive or time pressured. In this case, the fraudster took advantage of a complex and emotional situation and relied on the apparent credibility of the forged documentation.”

The P&I correspondent transferred the $200,000 settlement to the account details provided, and the fraud was only discovered once they were contacted by the legitimate recipient asking why payment had not been received. By that point in time, the fraudster had already withdrawn the ill-gotten funds and they were beyond recovery by the banks.

“The quality of fraudulent emails is constantly improving and it is becoming almost impossible to tell if it is fraudulent just from reading it. Checks need to be made to verify if the emails are real. Any changes to bank details should be seen as a huge red flag. Similarly, if bank details appear to be in a different country to where the real payee is located, or if the account name differs from the real payee’s name, this should set alarm bells ringing,” said Brattman.

Upon noticing the fraud, the P&I correspondent notified the P&I club immediately, and a legal counsel was appointed to verify the claimant’s identity and finalise the settlement correctly. The ITIC member paid the settlement again in full and covered the additional legal costs involved in successfully delivering the funds to the rightful recipient.

The correspondent was covered by ITIC for negligence, and the professional indemnity specialist assessed the incident as a failure to identify fraudulent communications and verify new bank details before authorising payment. ITIC also reimbursed the correspondent for the additional legal costs.

“We highly encourage correspondents to take extra care to verify identities and payment instructions through secure, multi-channel communication. Bank details should always be checked by calling a publicly available telephone number, such as one listed on an official website, rather than any number supplied in an email. We strongly encourage members to put robust fraud prevention measures in place and to maintain strong internal control systems, especially when managing settlements or any other critical payments,” said Brattman.

Claims Review also contained a story of a yacht broker sending €90,000 of charter hire to the wrong account after the yacht owner’s email address was compromised. In this instance, the bank managed to block the fraudulent payment and return funds to the broker, something ITIC says is a rare occurrence.